Field of the Invention
The following description relates to a conveyor for conveying loads comprising a load separator device.
Description of the Related Art
Conveyors comprising a plurality of rollers are commonly used for transporting loads. The rollers determine a track on which the loads, such as pallets, are transported towards a discharge end of the conveyor, where the loads are unloaded by e.g. a forklift operator.
In order to enable the forklift operator to easily extract the end load (i.e. the first load reaching the discharge end), in particular by preventing the accumulation of other loads exerting pressure against the end load, a load separator device is commonly used in proximity of the discharge end. The load separator device is configured to isolate at least the end load, located downstream on the conveyor, with respect to the other loads which are waiting upstream.
These separator devices comprise a pedal and a stop, interconnected by a pole or a tie-shaped linking rod as coupling. The pedal is accommodated at the end of the conveyor and is designed to be actuated by the end load. The stop is used to retain the upstream loads in order to separate them from the load located at the downstream end. This stop is brought into active separating position by the pedal when the latter is actuated by the end downstream load and it is deactuated when said downstream load is removed. The removal allows the following load to take its place at the discharge end and actuates, in turn, the pedal as well as the retaining stop for the other loads.
DE 3129318 A1 describes a separator device comprising a stop bolt articulated on a leg of a toggle lever and connected via a linkage to a pedal. The pedal is connected to two springs, wherein one spring is pushed all the way to the toggle lever, when downward pressure is applied to the pedal, in order to trigger the stop bolt by pushing it upward. The other spring automatically releases the stop bolt once the pressure applied to the pedal ceases.
It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative and improved separator device for a conveyor.